Bleeding Sun
by Requine
Summary: What if the Stampede was truly what everyone thought he was? What if the Typhoon tore down cities by merely passing through? What if Vash wasn’t the Vash we all know…? Sum inside
1. The Sun Bleeds Red

Summary: What if the Stampede was truly what everyone thought he was? What if the Typhoon tore down cities by merely passing through? What if Vash wasn't the Vash we all know…? The man whom never died, but saw so many do just what he couldn't. The man whom put many in the grave that was dug for him in his place. The man whom was declared a "localized disaster", and lived up to that title. Vash the Stampede, the humanoid typhoon, was the shark of the land on the Planet Gunsmoke. He was feared for a reason…

Warning: A bit dark, more or less later on. Can't promise I'll finish this, just an idea that hit me while considering how Vash was made out to be so evil. No flames, as I don't appreciate them and this is a spur of the moment thing. I truly think of Vash as a giant teddy, but this was merely a cool idea. This is really the episodes redone by me making Vash evil. Rated T for a purpose: Don't like it, Don't read it, Don't review (if you don't like it that is. Good reviews are, however, appreciated!). Written in 12 font. Oh, and I describe him as "nega-vash", or the fan version of him with a black coat and gray hair.

Ch. 1 The Sun Bleeds Red

Rain poured down on the desert planet, an unusual sight for the dry land. Metal clad boots sank into the mud with each step with a black coat hanging heavily around his broad shoulders, and silver hair drooped messily over the round crimson sunglasses covering his red eyes. The menacing stride stopped when those feet entered the town of July. Nobody wandered the streets at that time of night, making his mission simple. The sinful looking man continued his journey to the center of the city, drawing people from their homes in curiosity. The entire city seemed to crowd around the stranger like they were hypnotized by his presence.

Red eyes looked to the sky with a wicked grin, and soon the barrel of his angel arm faced the same direction. Rain slid down his pale face as light gathered into his arm. People began screaming at this horrid sight and scattered away from him like ants. The malevolent person teethed a wider smile to the now black sky, almost like his arm had absorbed all the light from it, and he uttered the words,

"Goodnight July…"

* * *

Two women tore down the 60,000,000,000 wanted poster with horror still glowing in their eyes. A new sign was posted with a warning:

"Attention Citizens! Due to a recent incident the Insurance Society is no longer being held accountable for the actions of Vash the Stampede. Said man has been classified as the first ever Localized Disaster, and must be avoided at all costs. Repeat: The Insurance Society can no longer be held liable for any damage caused by the Humanoid Typhoon. There is no reward money for the capture of Vash The Stampede, and it is pressured to stay away from this man."

Milly Thompson and Meryl Strife strode away from the new warning and onto the streets of Augusta. People gathered about the post and gasped at the unheard of news. Meryl sighed inwardly, knowing it was their job to inform said disaster of his position.

"Do you think he will kill us?" Milly asked fearfully, much like a child.

"I doubt it. This man can't possibly kill us because we have the right to tell him the news. No matter how angry he gets." Meryl knew this was all bull that she was pulling from nowhere, but it would at least keep Milly calm for a while longer. "Where did you tie up our Thomas Milly?" Meryl changed the subject miserably.

"By the diner. Do you think we can get a drink before we leave? Please?" Milly begged. Meryl closed her eyes and set her fists on her hips determinably.

"No Milly, we have a job to do, and we don't have time for drinks." They arrived at the diner and climbed onto their Thomas, riding from the town and toward the one closest to July. Or… what was left of July.

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A/N Sorry for the short chapter, and badly written one at that. The others will be longer and MUCH more interesting, I swear. Review if you like the idea, and I might update quicker. Off I go now! Be sure to hit the button at the bottom on your way out and keep checking up on the story! 


	2. Darkness Rises From The East

Now the story starts, but whether you read it or not is up to you… Choose your friends wisely, as some might be all that was said of them…

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Ch. 2 Darkness Rises From the East

Vash the Stampede walked lazily into the next town with sleep drowning his eyes. He slowly followed the citizens running into their homes with his eyes and slumped his shoulders tiredly. A bed was in order for the day, but he just needed to find a-

"Mr. Stampede!" A shocked female voice startled him from his mid afternoon walk. He looked down to see a short dark headed woman wearing all white and a large woman by two Thomas near the hotel he was headed to. He raised a gray eyebrow in confusion. Nobody dared come near him! Especially women, of all people, avoided him. Wind blew through the silence and the Typhoon stared expectantly at the woman, waiting for an explanation. He made no move as he counted down the seconds until her early death…

Five… Four… Three… Two… On-

"Here, I bring a gift!" She bowed her head nervously and shoved a box under his nose in fear. Vash slowly inched his hand forward, like it was chained to the ground, and after a long while he grasped the corner of the box tightly, slightly crushing it, and pulled it near his body. He opened the lid the reveal glazed donuts winking at him from the package. He closed the box and slid it to his side securely and nodded to the women as he attempted to walk around them.

"Ther-there's one more thing Mr. Stampede…" the short girl spoke again just as tensely as before "I am Meryl Strife-"

"And I'm Milly Thompson!" Milly interrupted.

"And we represent the Insurance Society. You have been declared a Localized Disaster, and we can no longer be liable for the messes you leave-"

"Messes!" Vash cried out in outrage. "But don't you see…" his voice spread like venom in the air as he proudly boasted of his reasoning "I'm cleaning up! Nothing more dirty than a human!" He laughed evilly. "Now leave me before I change my mind of sparing you."

"I don't think you realize the position you are in. Any more 'spring cleaning' from you and-"

"And I don't think you realize the position YOU are in!" Vash hissed as he grabbed the finger she had been shaking at him. "These imperfect beings are living on MY planet, as are you, and I don't take well to being ordered around!" He began pulling her finger back in his agitation and was met with a sharp blow to his face. Milly had crossed over to help her dear friend Meryl.

"Mr. Vash I can't believe how inhuman you are being! Hurting Meryl is a wrong thing to do!" she cried out. Vash released Meryl's hand in slight shock. The shock slid away from his face and was replaced inch by inch with anger. His right hand curled up tightly and Vash roared out in fury as he swung his fist into the side of Milly's face. Milly flew back against one of the Thomas, nearly breaking her neck.

Meryl gasped and instantly was at her friend's side, trying to help her. Seeing that Milly was alive and nothing was broken, except skin, she stood up and stomped towards Vash. As a derringer was being pulled from her coat she yelped as her face met the back of someone wearing all black.

"Stay back, just because your upset doesn't mean we should risk the lives of any young children!" The black wearing man yelled under his breath to Meryl. "Why don't you go help your friend, I'll take care of this guy."

Vash started chuckling, and slowly his chuckle turned into a roar of laughter.

"Take care of me? Do you honestly think you can get rid of me just like that? Look, I'm tired and want to sleep. Give it a rest until tomorrow and you'll live just that much longer."

"Nicholas D. Wolfwood at your service Vash the Stampede. I'm a messenger of the lord, carrying out his word across this small and forgotten land. Here, HAVE A CONFESSIONAL!" Wolfwood pushed his portable confessional over Vash's head and quickly grabbed Milly and Meryl's hands as he made a run for it. When Vash could finally pull the box off his head the three people were long gone.

He looked at the confessional and threw it to the ground and the mini church splintered into a hundred pieces. Vash grumbled in an annoyed tone and strolled into the hotel deciding that he would just have to find those imbeciles later at wipe them off his infested planet.

"I need a room." He spoke maliciously to the front clerk. The ratty man let out a yelp in fright and quickly threw a key from the wall to the Typhoon. Vash continued grumbling up to room thirteen still angry that those humans had gotten the better of him. Vash stepped into his room to see his brother sitting on the bed watching the floor.

"I understand you can't remember yesterday…" Knives spoke coldly. Vash looked at Knives with hatred glowing in his red eyes. He slowly brought his black drop barrel gun to Knives' forehead and grinned evilly.

"You still haven't forgiven me for killing her, have you?" Knives said slowly. "It was an accident, did you know. I couldn't help her. I TRIED! YOU WATCHED ME VASH! I LOST MY ARM TRYING TO SAVE HER LIFE!"

"You killed the only person I cared for! You deserve to die a horrible and slow death." Vash growled under his breathe. He remained smiling while pointing the gun directly inbetween Knives' eyes.

"I'm sorry Vash! I couldn't save Rem, but I saved what she loved: the humans. You should do the same! Why are you killing them! YOU HAVE TO STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" Knives jumped off the bed and looked to Vash pleadingly. "We can forget this! We don't have to fight Vash; you're my brother! We promised…" Vash sneered at him.

"These humans don't have the right to be one my planet, and neither do you. Why don't you just die? I will stop if you'd just die already! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I KILL YOU?" Vash shot his eyes towards the door when hearing footsteps go by then looked back to where Knives had been. A blank wall met his wide eyes and he shakily lowered his gun knowing that Knives had left again. Vash threw his gun aside and fell onto his knees, resigned. He fell down on the floor and didn't move, his mind racing with thoughts and his body slowly drifting into sleep.

"One of these days Knives, you will pay for what you have done…"

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A/N: Hello! I've had one review, glad you like the story. Maybe more will review soon. Just a couple notes. One, I have it set so I can receive reviews from even anonymous people, so everyone can review. Two, sorry I forgot to mention this, but I pretty much switched Vash and Knives personalities… SORRY! No flames! Thirdly, I don't own trigun. I'm pretty sure Yashiro Nightow does. And lastly, chapter updates could take anywhere from one to two weeks at a time. I'm making this up as I go, did you know? So anyway, that's this week's episode. Tune in next time for chapter three of Bleeding Sun! 


	3. What Once Was Evil

I couldn't believe it. One day and I had FOUR MORE REVIEWS! I about passed out. This is how it happened: I walk inside from a long day at high school and sit at the computer. 'I wonder if I got another review…' I think as the Internet flashes on before my eyes. I look under My Favorites in the folder Stories and click on the Trigun Bleeding Sun button. The site blinks on and I hit my head on the keyboard in a daze. "NO WAY!" I shout in excitement to see four more reviews than merely 24 hours ago. "That's it!" I say determinably as I turn on my good thinking music "I'M GONNA GIVE THESE PEOPLE AN EARLY CHAPTER!" I shout in joy.

Hooray my people, hooray.

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Ch. 3 What Once Was Evil

Ten strangely dressed people gathered around Knives as he walked in the door exasperated.

"He just won't listen…" Knives said sadly to his comrades. Legato Bluesummers, a blue-headed man wearing a white coat and bore a missing arm, stepped towards Knives reproachfully. Knives collapsed onto his reading chair and ignored their presence.

"Sir…" Legato did a small bow and stepped back into the crowd. Knives seemed startled by their appearance and looked up expectantly.

"One is missing…" He said slowly. The others looked down and Midvalley shook his head.

"I'm afraid he has died…" Midvalley spoke solemnly of their purple clad friend with the yellow visor and giant guns strapped to each arm. Every time a member had become deceased it was impolite to speak or write their name. Knives gave a heavy sigh.

"Did your visit end badly again Sir?" E. G. Mine asked with sarcasm unintentionally in his words. His enormous spiked shield guarded his small frame, but his voice was loud and almost annoying with the natural sarcasm tainting his words.

"Yes, Eugene, it was horrible. He thinks this is his planet and the humans are like spiders. I couldn't convince him otherwise."

"You brought up Rem Saverem again, didn't you?" Rai-dei asked. Knives nodded. The group looked at each other and back at Knives. Millions smiled when an idea hit him.

"I was watching him. A woman gave him a package and she is still living right now! Vash didn't kill her, and do you know what that means?" All eyes were cast onto Dominique.

Vash looked at the small pile of dirt that was lying by his head. It was a wander he didn't inhale it and choke in his sleep. The great Vash The Stampede… killed by dust. What a way to go out. Vash pushed his achy bones from the hard wood floor and stood up. He brushed off his black coat, which for some funny reason seemed to attract every last piece of dirt in the room. He stretched and pushed his hair back up to its usual spiky self.

He suddenly remembered Knives and looked to the spot on his bed that the treacherous man had been sitting. With inhuman speed his swung his hand up and pointed his finger like a gun at the bed.

"Bang." He whispered childishly. He jumped out the second story window and into the street. People screamed and ran into houses and buildings in fear and he smiled to himself while walking from the town. He reached into his bag and pulled out the day old donuts and happily downed them and threw out the box. He looked at the card that had been inside and read it with somewhat interest.

"One… zero… one Damin Road… Augusta." He said very gradually. He leisurely pushed the card into his pocket and smirked. "So be it. Next stop: Augusta." He said to himself lazily.

Augusta was a fine city. Buildings were large and plentiful, and the only thing bigger than the city was the mountain with a windmill behind it. Vash smiled as he walked down to the largest building with a grin plastered onto his face.

"What an outstanding building!" He said rather cheekily. He recalled that harpy of a women saying that she worked for the Insurance Company. Vash looked at the Bernadelli Insurance Society's doors and laughed. His picture was posted onto them and a warning beneath it.

"A localized disaster, am I now? Well I'm in the vicinity of this building, so I suppose I should cause a 'disaster', eh?" He cackled and entered the building cheerfully. The minute he stepped inside the hundreds of workers by the front desk disappeared. He walked bouncily to the desk and rang the bell. He could hear a woman groaning in horror beneath the desk. He rang the bell a few more times and sighed.

"Oh well, I guess I should just get rid of this place and leave. Nobody seems to be here anyway…" He said mockingly to the "empty" desk. The girl quietly squeaked and began sobbing. Vash leaned over the desk and looked at the tiny woman upside-down.

"Well what do we have here?" He laughed. "And I thought this place was deserted! Can you tell me where somebody is?" He said. The woman stood and stared at him with frightened eyes. She nodded witheringly. Vash pulled the card from his coat and handed it to her.

"You see this? First I have to say: a localized disaster? You couldn't come up with anything more… original? I mean you make my sound like an uncontrollable animal. Or maybe… you people think of me like that?" He asked with curious eyes.

"I-I'm sorry… But I don't come up with the names! I just check people in and help them…" she said with an annoyingly high pitched voice. She seemed rather ditsy. Vash shrugged and began cleaning out his ear with his pinky.

"Oh well. Another thing, those two girls, Meryl and Milly, can you tell me where I can find them?"

"They are supposed to be posting warnings in the sev- six cities. I don-don't know where they are specifically…" She said. Vash nodded and began walking from the building. The woman bowed and sighed in relief. The Stampede laughed and the minute he had walked out the doors he turned to the company and transformed his arm into the Angel Arm.

"Don't you think that's kind of rude?" a female voice interrupted his charging and Vash looked over his shoulder at the long-haired woman wearing a white coat. The Typhoon's arm shook and he turned to see Dominique the Cyclops staring at him.

"Good day Mr. Stampede."


	4. Drinks For All! Except Milly

Ch. 4 Drinks for All! (Except Milly)

Vash flashed his trademark smirk and looked to the woman rather coolly. The dark circles beneath his eyes became visible as he removed the blood red sunglasses and tucked them into his coat. His arm gave another shake and seemed to shed the gun like it was shaking off splinters.

"What a past couple of days!" He cried out manically. "Why, suddenly, is no one fearing me? Is it because of the bounty being removed? I can fix that believe you me! And don't you suppose typing is an abnormal habit of someone who so willing to kill the largest threat to mankind?"

Dominique faltered and lowered her one visible eyebrow in frustration.

"What are you?"

"You're bringer of death!" Vash cried out while laughing insanely. "If what you mean is 'how did you know that', then please, ASK STRAIGHT OUT!" he yelled like a madman, quite pleased with himself for figuring out her favorite pastime.

"How did you know that?" she asked under her breath. Vash cackled and finally calmed down enough to reply.

"You have a crease on your sleeve halfway down your wrist where you rest your arm while typing. You have indents on the ends of your fingers from an old time typewriter! And black ink is still poorly clinging to your hands, ink used in printing novels, but doesn't dry to the paper instantly and you didn't allow those recent papers to dry before you picked them up! How obvious it was you used an Underwood conventional typewriter. Those are a frontstroke typebar machine with a four- bank qwerty keyboard and is a single shift, inked by a ribbon."

"You know a lot about typewriters, odd enough. But to let you know, I could have killed you three times during this conversation." She held up three slender fingers and three buttons popped from his dusty black coat. Vash laughed and looked at her with slyness playing over his gray eyes.

"And I you five times…" He laughed nervously and smiled to her truthfully, "Okay, so let's say four." Several buttons in turn popped from the Cyclopes' blouse, and she swiftly wrapped her white coat over her chest.

"Prepare to die…" she whispered and before the wind could even carry her voice to Vash she had disappeared from sight. Vash's eyes widened in horror as she appeared beside him with a gun pointed up from his chin. She smiled in satisfaction and squeezed the trigger.

* * *

"Please Mr. Priest, how can we repay you? It was very kind of you to save our lives!" Meryl said loudly to the black haired cleric.

"It was all the work of god," he started nobly "I can ask nothing from you…" He smiled innocently and pulled a mini church from his bag "except that you buy this portable confessional!" He smiled craftily and waited for a reply.

"Boy, that's neat. Did you make that yourself?" Milly asked childishly while prodding at the confessional. Wolfwood growled in annoyance and stood up straight.

"Do you want it or not?" he snapped. Meryl sighed.

"I suppose," she handed him two double dollars and set it behind her and said: "But I'd feel better if we could buy you a drink Mr. Priest-man. We owe you a lot." Milly cheered at Meryl's suggestion.

"Yay! I could use a good drink!"

Meryl rolled her eyes and leaned towards Nicholas.

"Be sure she doesn't get any. She becomes way too wild."

"Oh come on now! This is a celebration of our still being alive! Let her loosen up a bit."

"YAY!" Milly cheered loudly and instantly stormed into the nearest bar and started shouting for drinks. Meryl sighed again and Wolfwood laughed.

"Lively young girl, isn't she? She's starting to grow on me!" Nicholas chuckled as he entered the bar and Meryl pulled out her wallet with a sad look. She didn't think the priest would be interested in a drink, and it was just her luck to find the one church man willing to drink himself silly. She looked and the forty-eight double dollars left in her purse and could already imagine that money all gone.

"I have a bad feeling in the pit of my wallet." She cried silently as she entered the bar solemnly knowing they will now be broke. "Greeeeaaaat."

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Sorry for the long time periods between posts. Homework has been controlling my life, and so have friends and needed sleep. Speaking of which, I've stayed up WAY too late writing this for you people, now I'm going to bed and you should be happy. BTW, write more reviews or don't expect too much from my part. wink wink 


	5. Death Relives

To tell the truth people, -.- I never expected the story to reach this far. I personally just started it for the idea and the fun, hoping to spread more stories like this out there. I know my chapters have been short and uneventful, trust me, I've written better (nothing on ff though, check Life as a Rose in fictionpress!) and I hoped this would be starting off better, but its not going how it was planned and I have no idea where I'm taking this. I'll keep writing though, and maybe it will get better. I'm going to start planning out a plot for this (mainly making up an ending and making the story work around that. That's my idea of a plot.) Again, this will hopefully be better. And as I said, I'm sorry for the short chapters, and I thank you for your inspirational reviews! I HAVE YET TO RECEIVE A BAD ONE! WOO! Anyway, on with Vash's evil life:

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Ch. 5 Death Relives

The empty shot rang out into the barren sky, meeting nothing in its path. Dominique growled in anger and spun on her heel to point the barrel of her gun at the smirking face of Vash the Stampede. The typhoon cackled and wiped the string of blood from his chin. He excitedly aimed his large gun at the Cyclopes with exhilaration rushing past those deadly gray eyes.

Vash's eyes widen in shock to hear voices ringing behind the corner of the main road and he threw his gun to his side to point it at the oncoming people. Dominique, knowing she had a great opportunity lunged at Vash and was thrown back by his free arm. She hit the ground harshly and rolled several feet before lying still in pain. Vash continued ignoring her and listened to the three voices angrily.

"Why are we on the other side of the city again?" a male voice asked over a laughing woman.

"Because," the third said "I need to drop by the office for some things."

"Listen." The male voice said again and they stopped moving before Vash could see them. "Everything's quiet… Something's not right…"

Vash concentrated on the spot they would emerge from any second. His gun rang out and the bullet ripped through the man's arm. Wolfwood cried out in pain and dropped the two pistols he had been holding. He collapsed on the ground curling around the hole in his forearm.

"You again!" Vash growled out furiously. "Don't expect to live this time!" He lowered his gun level to Nicholas' head and began putting pressure on the trigger very slowly.

"Mr. Priest!" Milly cried out, running to his aid. Vash hesitated from the sudden appearance and in another second he had shot the girl in the leg. Meryl charged from behind the corner and began firing her derringers before she could even see whom it was she was shooting at. Vash yelped as one grazed his forehead and he shot a third bullet, making her lame in the foot. Vash, for the first time since he could remember, panicked. He gave a look of being scared and spun to see Dominique, who was trying her hardest to stand up. He fired three times, empting his gun into her head. He cried out in fright and ran towards the other three, dropping his gun beside them. He dropped to his knees and began helping up the short girl first. He took her by the shoulders and shook her awake looking dreadfully into her eyes. She opened her eyes and gave a start at seeing his face. Vash dropped her and grabbed his first aid kit and wrapped up the three's wounds as quickly as he could. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he helped them the most he was able to.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He cried out to them when he finished. He wrapped his arms around Meryl and cried into her shoulder.

"Rem! Rem! Oh Rem, I'm so sorry!" He said into her shirt. Meryl looked at him in terror and looked at the other two. Wolfwood and Milly hesitantly helped Vash up to his feet and Meryl uncertainly picked up his gun with some trouble from its weight. They went into the nearest hotel and checked in and set him on the couch in their four-bed bedroom. Vash curled up into the fetal position. He looked at Meryl sadly.

"Please don't look at me like that Rem…" He said slowly.

"I'm not…" Meryl looked up at Wolfwood and he shook his head. Milly sat down on the floor with some trouble from her leg and sighed.

"Vash the Stampede…" Wolfwood started, looking at him cautiously "I don't understand…"

"Please!" Vash cried out loudly. "I didn't recognize you before with your short hair Rem, and you're shorter than I remember, but you mustn't look at me like that! I'm sorry! I thought you had died so long ago!" Vash fell off the bed and crawled towards Meryl and laid his head on her knees. He clutched at her legs like a small child and continued sobbing into her dress.

Meryl sighed and decided it was in their best interest to play along. She carefully set her hand on her head in the mess of silver hair and took in a deep breath.

"Wh-why are you killing people?" She choked out. Vash looked up at her with a red face and sorrowful eyes.

"Because…" He whispered. "I don't care if they die… You're the only human I care about… If you couldn't live, why should they?" He sounded like he was a small boy making sense of nothing. Meryl sighed and looked at him with some anger.

"Nobody has the right to take the life of another-" as soon as she said this Vash began wailing and clutching to her for dear life.

"You hate me now! Oh Rem! Please don't hate me!" Meryl looked down at Milly for help and Milly gave one of her 'I'm going to say something smart' sighs.

"Mr. Vash, you can't expect the deaths of others to help someone else." She spoke like a mother scolding a child.

Vash stared at Meryl with grief in his eyes and he slightly shook her.

"Rem. Rem! Rem, why won't you look at me?" He cried out as though his own parents were abandoning him. Meryl persistently stared at the vase to her side and tried ignoring the madman. Vash yelped in pain as a foot sent him reeling across the room.

"Do you know how many families have suffered because of you! HOW MANY CHILDREN HAVE LOST THEIR PARENTS? You don't deserve to live!" Wolfwood yelled at him. He pulled out a gun and pointed it to Vash's skull. Vash looked up at him with sadness and rage mixed in his face. He picked up his gun and aimed it in turn inbetween Wolfwood's eyes. Vash sobbed and looked at Meryl who was still refusing to spare a glance to them.

"Rem… Look at me Rem! See what I'd do for you! I'll kill him! He wouldn't be alive now if it weren't for you, and look how he repays you! If he's willing to kill, so am I!" Vash turned to look at Wolfwood with no trace of life in his eyes. Meryl turned around to look at the Typhoon and she stood up slowly. She set her hand on Vash's gun and lowered it down. Wolfwood brought his gun down too, against his better judgment. Meryl staggered slightly due to her foot and pulled the gun from his hand. She set it down on a dresser and Vash went to pieces seeing her limp around.

"God! What have I done to you!" He rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her in a large hug. Milly stood up next to Wolfwood and took the gun from his hand and set it on the bed.

"I don't suppose there is any need for this in this room Mr. Priest." She said while watching Vash hug Meryl. "He's like a big kid who lost his way somewhere along the line."

"What does he mean I wouldn't be here if it weren't for that Rem lady?" Wolfwood said in a sort of daze.

"I wouldn't worry about it!" Milly said in her cheery voice. "I think our first goal is to set Mr. Stampede right!"

Vash press his cheek against Meryl's and gave a shudder.

"I saw you die…" He whispered into her ear. She trembled at feeling his warm breath on her face. "It was so horrible. Everything I loved died before my eyes right then and there. If only the ship hadn't been hit by that asteroid none of this would have happened…" Meryl's eyes widened when she understood what he meant. But it wasn't possible! If it were true, he had to be over one hundred years old! But he didn't look a day over twenty!

"I've made a mistake Rem. But if your god is as merciful as you told me, he will forgive me, and so will you… I don't know how you lived, or how you haven't aged, but I know it's you, and I just want you to know how happy I am that your alive…"

Meryl pushed away from him and looked at him with fright.

"You came from the SEEDs ships…" She whispered in fear. Vash looked at her confused and looked at the other two with the same bewildered look in his gray eyes.

"Can't you remember? Rem!" He shook her slightly. Meryl jumped back away from his touch and backed up into Wolfwood. Vash reached out toward her and Wolfwood picked up his gun and pointed it at him.

"She doesn't want you to touch her! Leave her be!" Wolfwood said warningly. Meryl hid behind him and grabbed Milly.

"He's not human!" She said fearfully. Vash looked hurt and grabbed the barrel of Nicholas' pistol and crushed it like paper.

"Of course I'm not! Rem, you don't remember me at all, do you?" Vash shot forward and seized Meryl be her shoulders. "Do you? Look at me! Look into my eyes! Rem! Please don't forget me!" He yelled at her pleadingly. Meryl wailed out, tears streaming fiercely down her face and Vash looked at her in resentment. Vash's eyes went blank suddenly and they rolled into the back of his head as he passed out on her shoulder. Wolfwood stood over them with his gun still in the air. Milly quickly lifted the Typhoon from Meryl and laid him on his bed, then helped the unconscious Meryl into her own.

"She must have passed out in shock. She'll be okay in the morning. Go to bed Milly, and I'll watch this guy tonight." Wolfwood beckoned Milly to her bed and sat in the chair by the corner and rest his gun in his good hand on his knee. Wolfwood sat up all night watching the psychotic man sleep, keeping a careful eye on him.

"Rem…" Vash mumbled in his sleep into his pillow as a tear fell down his face. "please remember…"


	6. I Only Ask For Your Dying Love

Ch. 6  
I Only Ask For Your Dying Love

Meryl, Milly, and unintentionally Wolfwood, all woke up the next morning to find Vash's bed was empty. Wolfwood cursed the sight of the vacancy in the room and turned to the girls sharply.

"Are you two okay?" He asked angrily. They nodded and Wolfwood gave a deep sigh. "I'm going to take a shower, no need to look for him now." He walked lazily into the bathroom and locked the door, disappearing for the next two hours. Milly, in her usual cheery way took off to the market. Meryl, now left to her own thoughts, decided the back of the hotel would be a quiet place to gather her mind.

Meryl strolled down the hardwood staircase of the hotel, taking her time looking at the paintings hung on the walls. She was shocked to see paintings that had came directly from the SEED ships hanging very loosely, protected only by glass cases. They had descriptions beneath them, and she was instantly drawn to, what she thought, the most beautiful one on display. The description though had no record of what the photograph was of. It was an amazing place, and she longed to be there, if only to observe its magnificence.

"That's London." Meryl gave a start to see Vash standing beside her with a sad look in his eye. She looked at him with frightened eyes, but he didn't so much as spare a glance to her. "It was on Earth. Remember? The planet you came from, the one that was dying."

"London…" she repeated and looked at the picture with a distorted face. Vash glared at it with the same expression and suddenly turned from her and began walking away. Meryl ran to catch up with him and they walked outside together in silence.

"Mr. Stampede… I should tell you something."

"Vash!" He ejaculated. He seemed very upset that she would call him anything else. "You named me Vash! It was all you! Why can't you remember?"

"That's just it! I can't remember because I don't _own _any of those memories! My name if Meryl Strife, like I told you three days ago. I was born and raised here on Gunsmoke, my parents were wealthy business managers and I followed in their steps by becoming an insurance agent. My life is a dull and uneventful one, unlike the one you seem to think I had!"

Vash seemed to stop breathing when she said that. He looked down at her with resentment written very clearly on his face.

"M-Meryl?" he stuttered. He looked shocked beyond reason. "That can't be. You're Rem! You look exactly like her! What am I saying? Of course you're her! You just think that! You have to be her! I can't… I can't…. I CAN'T GO ON WITHOUT YOU!" He dropped to his knees and much like before and he clung to her, his arms wrapped around her waist and his face pressed against her stomach. "I don't believe you." He sobbed into her coat. Meryl, somewhat growing used to him acting like a small child, pulled him away and dropped to her knees too.

"Now look at me… Vash. I'm not who you think I am. But that doesn't change anything. You still have to stop this massacre you've been committing."

Vash looked at her spitefully and turned his nose up like he was denying some bait she was offering him.

"Massacre?" He reiterated. "You mean my 'cleaning up of the planet'?"

"CLEANING UP? Vash! How dare you even think that what you have been doing is an okay thing?" She reared her hand back and must have been an inch from slapping his face when he grabbed her hand with inhuman speed. He looked at it with some interest, fascinated that she was actually about to hit him. She forced her hand from his and jumped back, rage burning in her blue eyes. Vash rose from his knees and looked at her intently, deciding whether to leave or not.

"Vash," she said, interrupting his thoughts "Please stay with us." Meryl struggled with her words. She truly didn't want him around her anymore, she was scared of him, but if they could keep him around then maybe they could change him…

* * *

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" roared Knives as he stared at the mangled body of the 'one eyed' girl sprawled across his clean floors. "How could this happen!" He thundered to the others. He finally collapsed into his armchair and he spread out his thin legs in front of him. His chin sunk to his breast and he closed his eyes in a thoughtful way. He looked up at Legato with weary, miserable eyes. He reached up with a white hand and clutched to the snow colored coat Legato famously wore.

"Master…" Legato bowed and stepped away from Knives' touch. He sighed inwardly and stood up.

"I'm afraid he's out of control. There's no going back for him now, and we have no choice but to put a stop to him once and for all."

"Are you saying… you want us to _kill _him?" Rei-Dei choked out.

"Yes, unfortunately I am."

"But who will do it?" The normally silent Midvalley spoke up with wide, frightened eyes.

The many pairs of eyes scanned the room, silently judging everyone around them. Everyone waited patiently for someone to volunteer.

"I'll happily do it…" E. G. Mine said with his sickening croaked voice.

* * *

I shouldn't be, but I'm updating, ONE REVIEW SHORT! But I expect a full 20 for chapter seven, which I promise is not one you want to miss! Squimish people beware ch. 7!  
Your Loyal Writer,  
GhnCreate 


	7. A Price To Pay

Ch. 7 A Price To Pay  
Bleeding Sun

Vash walked across the desert with his usual insane grin spread maniacally across his face. His smile faltered as he heard shouting echo from behind him. He stopped angrily and swung around only to have Meryl run into him. She gasped and jumped back and looked back at Milly and Wolfwood.

"Sempai! Slow down, me and Mr. Priest can't keep up!" Milly called out while running towards them with Wolfwood closely following her. They finally caught up and Vash raised his eyebrows, expecting an explanation.

"How the hell do you walk so fast in this heat!" roared Wolfwood as he rested against his cross. Milly giggled and Meryl looked up at Vash, waiting for a reaction. Lately he had been very unpredictable, so she wasn't sure what to expect. Vash, however, remained silent and spun on his heels, continuing his journey to an unknown city. His black coat billowed out behind him, shaking the sand from its thick cloth. Wolfwood gasped and unbuttoned his black suit jacket and persistently followed him and the girls.

Vash stopped for a second time and looked at a body lying in a heap at his feet. He gave it a kick in an uninterested way and it rolled over to reveal the bloody face of that wretched Cyclopes. Vash furrowed his eyebrows down and turn back to see Meryl and the others were trailing behind him again. He quickly unbuckled his traveling bag from his shoulder and threw it at the group. The bag collided with them and they all fell down.

"Stay there!" Vash yelled at them. He tore his sunglasses from his face and looked around for any sign of movement, other than the struggling of the threesome behind him.

"This is her, right? The precious girl you won't kill, am I mistaken?" A muffled yet unreasonably annoying voice called from behind him and Vash turned to see a short, thin man standing between two half-sphere shields. One hand had wires wrapped about every finger, but his right one was extended from within the spiked shield as it held Meryl up by her hair. She cried out in pain and he laughed wickedly at Vash's expression. The Stampede's entire being became a threatening silhouette as the suns lowered behind him. E. G. Mine could vaguely see him rise up his gun and he cried out when the shot just narrowly grazed the skin on his arm. Eugene hollered in fury and he threw Meryl onto the ground and gave her a bone breaking kick in the side. The other two had evidently been knocked out, as they made no movements what-so-ever.

Vash's dull eyes widened in horror and rage as he watched E. G. Mine laugh as he continued kicking Meryl.

"Don't hurt Rem!" Vash cried out as he ran at E. G. Mine. Eugene cackled and turned to the side and flexed his wired fingers.

"Take another step closer and I'll carve her full of holes!" he threatened with wide eyes. The mask covering his mouth loosened and flung open to reveal inhuman sharp teeth and no lips to grace his face. Vash growled and with a whirl of his hand he pointed his gun at him with no emotion running over his facial expressions.

"What makes you think she is of any importance to me? One less human to wipe off this dirty planet!" Vash shouted over the dust storm that was brewing. The remains of a torn down church scattered about them creaked and groaned in protest to the winds.

Meryl cried out as one spike impaled her arm. Vash gasped and reached towards her hopelessly. E. G. Mine laughed triumphantly.

"I beg to differ!" He looked amusedly at Vash's enraged face. He disappeared into his silhouette again and stood menacingly over E. G. Mine and Eugene could faintly hear him growl:

"Its filth like you that remind me why I hate the humans! You will die for your presence…" E.G. Mine laughed at Vash's speech and quickly gave his wires a large tug.

Time seemed to freeze as blood spilled from the young woman. Vash's pupils shrunk to nothing in horror and he watched the life flutter from her eyes. Her face was so full of pain that Vash felt like a million rusty knives were being driven into his black heart.

"REM!" he called out helplessly. E. G. Mine laughed at his pain and looked the Typhoon straight in the black face.

"See how it feels to loose a loved one? You've been doing this for years! Hahaha!"

"She... she's gone..." Vash sobbed. He couldn't think over the fog of her death. "I lost her again... Again! I HAD TO WATCH HER DIE AGAIN!" He ferociously looked to the killer.

"You damn bastard!" Vash roared, kicking E.G. Mine in the face, breaking his nose.

E.G. Mine went sailing back, slamming into a wall, only his huge shields kept the force from killing him. He tried to get back up, but when he looked up, he was staring down the barrel of Vash's gun.

"You hurt Rem! You HURT HER!" Vash cried with an insane look gleaming in his eyes. E.G. Mine stared in silent terror at the psychotic look on Vash's face. "May you rot in hell…" Vash rose up his gun, but only to point it at E. G. Mine's right shoulder. He squeezed the trigger, smiling manically as the bullet sailed down the barrel of his gun, blasting straight through the man's shoulder joint, blowing the limb right off.

"Oh god no! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" E.G. Mine pleaded. He screamed in agony, falling into shock. He let go of his shield to cradle his bleeding stump, but as he moved his remaining arm Vash slammed the heel of his boot on his elbow, smashing the joint in half.

He cried out in horror at the unbearable pain. He looked up at his bringer of death in fear.

Vash widen his crazed smile and pointed his gun at his stomach. He emptied all his bullets in him, pausing his torturing only to reload his gun. Vash cackled at E.G. Mine's cries and pleads for his life. This death would be his greatest cleansing yet!

This one death will be his masterpiece, to show all the imperfects that they too will meet the same end.

And he knew exactly where to showcase the body.

By this point E. G. Mine could hardly move. His lipless face looked up at Vash in absolute fear.

"My Rem's death shan't be left without punishment. Don't you dare even think of mercy from your god." Vash ripped a spike from Meryl's leg and he looked into Eugene's face with cold, dull eyes.

The silhouette could be seen from the next city. And the scream seemed to flood about the planet, and the entire world appeared to freeze at the inhuman sound. People in the beautiful city of January watched in terror to see the spike in the right hand of the Stampede being forced through the skull of yet another one of his victims.

Three days later the people of Augusta stared at the mountainside windmill in shock. People cried out in terror at the blood showering down on them from the body hanging by its twisted feet from the giant windmill. Scrawled clumsily in blood was written:

Prepare For The End

And beneath that was the Stampede's name gracefully signed. The disturbing thing about his blood drawn signature was how steady his hand was as he did it. As though he had no regrets…

* * *

NO! THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! It occurred to me that it seems this way, BUT IT IS NOT! And a note, Darkmoon Knight helped write this chapter (more specifically, E.G. Mine's death…) Keep reading, and as my now (somehow) famous line goes: remember to…

**PUSH THE PRETTY LAVENDAR BUTTON!**


	8. Falling Over the Edge

Ch. 8 Falling Over The Edge

Bleeding Sun

Vash stood over Meryl, not daring to touch her torn up body. If he had any real respect for the dead, he might have buried her. But she was too angelic to put under the harsh ground. So, he left her there, and maybe the body would keep a wild dog alive for another day. Vash cast an eye over Wolfwood and Milly and watched them stir slightly. This was all for the better, now he could continue his mission with the peace that he knew she was deceased. For real this time.

Vash took in a deep breath of the October air as the sand train tore through the ocean desert. He swept his dull eyes over the crowd as they kept a ten-foot radius from him. The knowledge that he couldn't destroy the train because it was the only transportation across the desert, for him and the crowd, meant safety for them. Vash watched the ground fly behind them after being knocked loose and he let out another hefty sigh. It had been merely two days since he had to watch his most miserable memory for the second time, and his hatred for Knives was amplified beyond human comprehension.

"S-sir…?" a twitchy man behind the Typhoon approached him on the verge of a heart attack. Vash turned to him in oblivion and made no threatening move towards the mousy man.

"We… welcome you on the Black Diamond… sir… But you m-must understand the sort of p-p-people who travel the sea of sand, sir… m-more s-specifically… the B-badland b-b-boys…"

"So?" Vash asked with what resembled a snarl. The fidgety man jumped away with dinner plate sized eyes and quickly did a deep bow.

"W-we ask th-that you j-join the s-security, sir…"

"Me! On security!" Vash's monotonous eyes lit up at the laughable mention of him working _with _the humans! "You don't honestly expect me to work with you scum, do you? If I have any trouble coming from any of you I'll destroy this whole train!" Vash's teeth widened into a wolfish smile. "Trust me! I can walk to the city from _here_!" The jumpy man leapt up and ran away from him, not daring to press the matter. Vash turned his back to the crowd again and watched the twin suns setting in the distance. Night would be here very soon, and Vash was sure something was going to happen.

Vash trudged down the hallway looking at the rooms quietly. 777. He opened the door and stepped in silently and threw his bag on the creaky bed. Someone had left his window open, causing a snarl to crawl onto his face.

"Damn maids." He cursed under his breath. He began closing the window but raised an eyebrow when he saw something from the corner of his eye. He turned around just in time to be hit in the face and nearly knocked out the window.

"Gah!" He yelled, hanging by his knees out the window. He swung up and slid back into his room and looked up at the ceiling angrily. The vent swung shut and rattling was heard traveling down the airshaft. Vash's head burst through the chute and he looked at a young boy, maybe eleven, and roared out in fury. He grabbed him by the overalls and dragged him through the hole he had created.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!" Vash yelled, pointing at his bloody nose and bruised forehead.

"Ya did that yourself by bursting through the vents, ya dummy!" The kid shouted while swinging his fists at Vash. He grunted when Vash dropped him on his butt and pushed him on his back with a shoe to his face. He did it gently though, just wanting to cause a threat to the boy, not to start an uproar on the train.

"Get off me ya big lug!" He screamed and pushed Vash's boot off his face. He sat up and started rubbing his nose with his arm.

Vash squatted down and looked at the boy with a twitching eyebrow and irritated eyes.

"Do you even know who I am?" Vash asked impatiently. The boy eyed him and stuck up his scuffed nose.

"Ya're the idiot who busted up yar own head!" He said and crossed his arms. Vash sighed and grabbed the boy by the head with one hand and hung him out the window.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't drop you, and I might think about pulling you back in." The boy yelled in horror. He couldn't see anything because of Vash's palm covering his eyes, but all the wind and no floor made it obvious he was outside.

"I-I have money! I'll buy ya food! Or anything ya want!" He cried out. At the mention of food Vash's stomach growled and he grew even more irritated. He pulled the boy in and threw him on the ground.

"How much you got?" Vash asked with the heel of his steel plated boots digging into the boy's gut. He quickly reached into his pockets and pulled out some crumpled handfuls of money.

"I dunno, but ya can have it all!" Vash took the pressure off the boy's ribcage and grabbed some of the double dollars.

"You're a pickpocket, aren't you?" He asked lazily. The boy leaned up and ignored his question. He looked at a pen with slight interest.

"Ya can't get this kinda stuff anymore. Where did _ya _get it?" He asked Vash. The Stampede quickly grabbed it and looked at him with the 'evil eye'. He tucked the pen away and spun around and walked out the door.

"Mr. Stampede! Mr. Stampede!" The mousy man ran to Vash with wide eyes. "It's the Bad Land Boys! They're here, and they want to split the entire train in half! Please," the man dropped to his knees and clutched to his black coat "we need your help!"

"Get off me!" Vash roared out and kicked the man to the wall, cracking his skull. "I said I would not help you! Now stay back!" He tromped away furiously and left the man there to die.

It was pandemonium in the train. The guests were panicking, the engineers were fleeing, and the Bad Land Boys were running a rampage all around him. Vash groaned in disgust. He hated when there was mayhem happening that he didn't cause himself.

"This is a very heavy gun…" The boy said from his side. Vash jumped back and snatched his gun away.

"Cut that out! Why are you following me!" He shouted. The boy shrugged and pointed back at the way they came from.

"Did ya hurt that man back there?"

Vash rubbed his temple with annoyance.

"Why don't you ask that man over there?" He said and motioned towards one of the Bad Land Boys running amuck. One of them approached Vash chuckling.

"Put the goods in the bag!" He said, holding a sack under Vash's nose. He put on his red glasses and pointed the gun at the man's forehead.

"Ah!" was the only sound he could get out before the bullet traveled through the suit and then his brains. Vash smiled and cackled while turning towards the others in the room.

"PREPARE FOR THE END!" His enthusiastic voice echoed in the silent room and he began a ballroom massacre. He swung his arm about and shot each and every person in the room through the forehead, all the time laughing like a mad man. Finally he stopped and looked down at the little boy, the last one living, and pointed the barrel inbetween his wide eyes. He slowly pulled the trigger with his smile widening with each millimeter.

Click.

Vash cackled and turned around, leaving the shocked boy to stare at his back. "Bang!" He cried out in laughter, scaring the unharmed kid even more. He opened his empty gun and pulled a pack of bullets foreword and pushed them into the weapon. He left the ballroom and entered the main steering room.

"Good day gentlemen! I'm afraid your ship had reached its carrying capacity and I was forced to fix it! You'll find the ballroom now clean and awaiting more passengers to arrive!" Vash cried out upon entering the room. The captain was bound and gagged to a chair and one of the engineers was lying dead on the ground. Neon Dynamite sat with his legs crossed and had been studying the control panel and shifted his eyes to look at Vash when he entered.

"Ah! I see we have the infamous Vash the Stampede, the Humanoid Typhoon on our ship! What an honor!" He said and he slipped off the desk he had been sitting on. His white cowboy suit with neon lights seemed to limit his movements, giving Vash a small advantage.

"The only problem is," Vash continued, "We still have one extra person aboard!" He looked around at the three other underdogs all pointing their guns at him and then he looked back at Dynamite. He raised his gun and aimed for the man's heart. "You'll do."

"Unless you know how to slow the train yourself, you're heroic deed will be all for nothing."

"Heroic deed!" Vash exploded in laughing and shifted the gun's direction towards the control panel.

"I don't care what happens to this ship! I can get off at any time. I just wanted to have some fun before I departed! Have a good time killing everyone aboard, I was going to do so myself! But I won't have complete satisfaction before I see these people's ring-leader slaughtered!" Vash pulled the trigger and the panel smoked and sparked, causing nearly everyone to fall over when the hull exploded and the train began sliding near the edge of the cliff.

"We have seven minutes before we go careening off that edge." Vash said calmly. He looked at Dynamite and his dull eyes shown through his sunglasses. "You have a choice. Be crushed by an unimaginable amount of weight of metal and corpses, or, be shot here and now."

Dynamite growled and slowly raised his own glowing gun and pointed it at Vash. He bowed and nodded, understanding the position he was in, and he aimed the gun at his temple.

"Bravo, Stampede. Bravo." The blast was muffled by the sound of rocks crashing into the sides of the train and Vash smiled in triumph. The other three men faced each other in terror and slowly aimed their own guns at themselves, and committed suicide.

"What have you done?" The boy ran in and looked at the five dead bodies in the room. He unbound the captain and looked at Vash in fear.

"You, too, must prepare for the end…" Vash grinned and swung around, leaving the two of them behind. He walked to the edge of the speeding ship and looked at the ground flying beneath them. They must have been going near 300 mph.

He cackled and jumped over the gate.

'Your end won't come as easy as these souls, Knives.' Vash thought to himself as the wind rushed passed him and the ground grew closer and closer. 'I'll make sure of that.'

"AHAHAHA!"


	9. This Is Unlike Me, But

Ch. 9 This Is Unlike Me, But…

Bleeding Sun

TRAIN SENT OUT OF CONTROL DUE TO HUMANIOD TYPHOON. APROX. 5,000 PASSENGERS FOUND DEAD ALONG WITH NOTORIOUS BADLAND BOYS.

That headline was everywhere. Wolfwood sighed as the last of the memorial was set up in Sun City. He had left Milly before she couldn't even wake up from the attack, and presumed Meryl to be dead. Obviously, though, Vash was still wandering about.

"That damn man. Look at the mess you left for me to clean up! CURSE YOU VASH!" He yelled and a chorus of other yells of agreement came from the other men cleaning up the train wreck and setting up the memorial.

"You're a clergy, right?" Another priest approached Wolfwood with bible in one hand and a shovel in another.

"Sort of." Wolfwood mumbled. The churchman pulled the cigarette from Nicholas' mouth and tossed it onto the ground.

"Then you might appreciate it when I say you should set a better example for others." The man waved goodbye and walked away. Wolfwood growled and reached for another cigarette. He looked up at the burning suns and wiped his forehead. A glinting on the cliff caught his eye and he looked up in and uninterested way. His jaw dropped in shock and the cigarette fell to the ground.

"Joe! I'm taking my break now!" Wolfwood yelled out to his boss and he dropped his shovel and jumped onto his motorcycle.

"But…" Joe muttered with wide eyes "you just started…"

Wolfwood tore down the road up the mountainside and pulled over by a body lying in the dirt. He was merely two feet from the edge of the cliff, and was only unconscious, but miraculously, wasn't injured.

"Hey Spikey! Get off your butt before I kick you over the edge!" Wolfwood shouted into Vash's ear. Vash's hand flew up and his fingers curled around Nicholas' neck. His face looked very disgruntled as he slowly managed to push himself onto his knees.

"You… can… let me… go… now…" Wolfwood choked out while clawing at Vash's hard fingers. The Stampede looked up at him with a scowl and released him. Wolfwood gasped for air and when color returned to his face he knocked Vash on the head with his fist.

"Yo Spikey! What were you thinking by killing all those people? Do you realize all the trouble you put me through!"

"Where's the giant girl?" Vash asked quietly. Wolfwood's face turned deathly pale and he turned away.

"I don't know. I don't care either." He fingered the pocket that was now absent of cigarettes shakily, becoming steadily upset that he had nothing to do with his hands.

"I see…" Vash stood up and brushed off his dirt covered black coat. He began walking away from Wolfwood but stopped when he felt his hand on his shoulder. He turned sharply and jumped away to see a very enraged Wolfwood.

"WERE YOU ABOUT TO LEAVE THIS MESS TO ME!" he yelled furiously "BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING IF YOU THINK YOU'RE GETTING OFF THAT EASY!" Wolfwood dragged Vash to the edge of the cliff and threw him over and enjoyed each inch the black dot fell down towards the rubble. He jumped on his bike and raced him down to the bottom.

Vash landed heavily on his face, and the feeling of dirt and mud and some sort of hard things (probably pieces of the ship) being drove into his body didn't help any. He pushed himself up and looked at the fifty or so workers staring at him with wide eyes. Some murmuring ran through the crowd until Wolfwood pulled to a halt beside Vash and picked him up be the thick collar of his coat.

"Look at this! It's a Bad Land Boy who survived! Let's make him work with us!" Wolfwood shouted over the hush in the crowd. Some nodding rolled about the men and then some yells of agreement roared out.

"WHAT!" Vash cried out in horror. The next minute he found himself in a sweaty white shirt, black pants, and clutching a shovel while digging through debris and corpses with chains hanging off his limbs.

"I ought to kill you…" Vash muttered to Wolfwood while crossly throwing more wreckage and a black cat (still living) into a cart. Wolfwood chuckled and pressed the barrel of his gun to Vash's head.

"Did ya hear that fellows! Poor little Bad Land Boy here isn't enjoying his work! Should I add more chains?" some cheers rang out and Wolfwood put away the gun and dropped more greasy chains on Vash's back. Vash stumbled towards his part of rubble heatedly and resumed shoveling away the rotting flesh.

"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time." Wolfwood laughed in Vash's face. Vash's nose crinkled up at the strong smell of tobacco still lingering on his breath. He slowly stood up and began breaking the chains off him. He picked up his coat and leather under-suit irritably and pulled on his infamous clothes while ignoring the stares from the crowd. He reached down and grasped air like a child reaching for out-of-reach cookies. His eyes widened and he looked at Wolfwood murderously.

"Give me my gun!" He roared and stuck out his hand towards Wolfwood. Nicholas barked out laughter and held up his gun teasingly.

"But Bad Land Boy, you haven't finished your job yet!" he laughed. Vash growled and his eyes darted about the men closing in, some were beating their shovels dangerously in their hand and others were pulling out pocketknives.

"I said… Give. Me. My. Gun!" He yelled at Wolfwood again. "I won't take this disgrace anymore! Give it back to me and I _might _allow you to live!"

"Who do you think you are?" One of the men cried out. The others grumbled in conformity. Vash turned his back to Wolfwood with an insane and gleeful smile spread across his face. His eyes widened in excitement at the opportunity to introduce himself.

"Why, my unlucky foes…" he snarled the word like it was the ugliest name he could call them "I am-!" He cried out when a shot rang out and grazed his arm. He swung around and looked at Wolfwood looking at his gun with vice.

"How can you shoot with this! I was aiming dead-center at your head!" He growled and threw the "useless" thing to the ground. Vash's eyebrows instantly drew down in a scowl and his pupils shrunk with lunacy. His long arm was flung around and the backside of his hand made a sickening slap against Wolfwood's face. Wolfwood was sent crashing to the ground and he groaned out in pain. Vash looked around at the other men as they closed in even more and he reached down for his gun.

"You people don't even know who I am, do you? I'm the legendary-" Vash yelped at feeling Wolfwood's long and rough fingers curled around his wrist. Wolfwood gave a large tug and pulled Vash down to the ground beside him and began grumbling unnecessary curse words.

"Are you stupid in the head or something? Look Spikey, more than half these men lost there families on this train you wrecked and there is no way in hell you can take them all on. Play along and pretend to be a Bad Lander or be killed by a mob of emotionally unstable guys." Vash pouted and pulled his gun closer to his chest protectively.

"I have no doubt that I can wipe these insects away in a matter of seconds, so I don't see your problem." Vash growled with his wild dull eyes darting about the gathering of angry and curious eyes.

"_My problem is _that you would so willingly kick the dog when it's down! I've killed before, so don't think I'm new to the territory, but you're about ready to _slaughter _these men!" Wolfwood turned his blackening and swelling face toward Vash to see his reaction. Vash stared blankly into space with no emotion crossing over his expression. Ever so slowly a smile etched its way onto his face and he raised the hand clutching his gun with white knuckles up to aim at the heart of a nearby man. As the man fell with cold dead eyes the other people began fleeing in shock. Wolfwood jumped up and tackled Vash before he could stand and began beating him with curled fists wherever he could.

"DAMN YOU!" Wolfwood hollered out. Vash flinched with each punch while reaching up towards Wolfwood and he finally coiled his gloved fingers around the collar of his shirt. He threw him off himself with all his power, sending Wolfwood skidding away towards his bike. Wolfwood rolled over and jumped to his feet and pointed with a shaky hand his pistol at Vash's chest. Vash jumped to his feet and howled out in fury when a large crowd of people passed inbetween the two fighting males.

"Out of my way!" he cried out trying to get passed them to kill off that terrorist priest. Wolfwood appeared from nowhere in front of Vash with his gun pressed against his forehead.

"One more step and I'll blow your brains out!" Wolfwood yelled. The scattering crowd stopped in their tracks and watched the spectacle with wide eyes. Vash slowly stood to his tallest and wrapped his fingers around the front of the gun, holding it steady.

"Go ahead then…" He laughed out like a madman and greeted his fate with open arms. "I dare you." He growled under his breath. Wolfwood's smile spread in suit and he pulled a string attached to the keys in his motorcycle and activated it. The engine blew up dust in a tornado and with only the loud roaring sounds and a screech of wheels, the crowd was left with two missing men.

"I can't believe I let you convince me to not kill them." Vash snarled into Wolfwood's ear. Wolfwood rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder at Vash clinging to the sides of the motorcycle as they flew past Sun City.

"If you're gonna ride with me I'm gonna have to get ya a side cart or something." Wolfwood grumbled. Vash turned his head away and ran a hand over the smooth top of the helmet pressing down his hair. Wolfwood turned his attention back to the road and tried ignoring the Typhoon on the back of his bike. His concentration was broken to hear Vash say something he never expected.

"Hey… Can we stop? I need to go."

The brakes slammed and two men went sailing into the air, screaming. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

I'm sorry, I just had to end this one differently. A little light-heartedness for the moment being. If this was a hard chapter to understand, I'll summarize it for ya. Wolfwood finds himself with a crowd of men from Sun City, the destination of the Sand Steamer, cleaning up the wreckage from the crash. Wolfwood, while lighting a cigarette, spots Vash on the cliff and drags him down to the people and covers up the Typhoon's identity to protect both Vash and the hard-working men. Vash and Wolfwood have a serious talk about his killing problem and Wolfwood eventually convinces him to not kill the saddened men and to travel with him to another city. Ends in humor.  
Another 5 reviews for chapter ten people! I want to thank my constant readers and my newer readers for reviewing, and I'd like this time to remind everyone that even anonymous readers can review. Our goal is 35 reviews, so…  
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	10. Insects Survive

Ch. 10 Insects Survive  
Bleeding Sun

Vash lay sprawled on the roof of an outcast broken down home lazily while Wolfwood was spending his time trying to convince some parentless kids to let them stay.

"C'mon, what do ya say?" Wolfwood asked with his hands holding out some money. The leader of the pack of kids looked at the double dollars with a raised eyebrow, deciding whether this was a good idea or not. "Well, how about we cook while we're here too, how does that sound?" Wolfwood gave an enormous grin and the leader quickly shot out his hand and took the cash.

"Ok, but ya haveta follow the rules, and none of that healthy stuff either!" He shouted. Wolfwood looked up at the locked up city that wouldn't allow them in and then up at Vash who was still lying on the rooftop.

"If you honestly expect me to cook anything for anybody else you're sadly mistaken…" Vash yawned. Wolfwood staggered and looked at him in rage.

"What!" He yelled in anger. Vash cleaned out his ear with his pinky in an uninterested way and he turned his head to face Wolfwood.

"Hey… Priest-man, your bike's being mauled by brats." He said in a laughing tone. Wolfwood spun around and his jaw dropped open in a comical manner.

"Hey you little beasts, get away from there!" He ran towards the children while waving his arms at them and started throwing them off his motorcycle.

"Mr. Churchman! Get over here and start cooking! We're getting hungry!" the lead kid yelled. He jumped from the house and pointed up at Vash. "You'd better do something too if you want to stay here mister!" Vash groaned and rolled off the top of the roof and landed on his feet behind the young boy.

"How about, I don't kill you?" Vash snarled into his face. The boy didn't even falter as a smile grew on his face.

"Company, attention!" The boy yelled out into Vash's face. About twenty other children filed out of the house and the five on Wolfwood's bike jumped down and got into their places in line. The line was judged by size apparently, as the tallest was at one end and the sizes decreased until it reached the other end where the shortest stood.

"This guy thinks he can scare me!" The kid yelled out and the others laughed in suit. "Let's show him that he should be afraid of us!" Vash's nose creased and he braced himself, ready to shoot any human that dared to even try and pose a threat to him.

"DOGGY PILE!"

Vash cried out in shock when all twenty-six kids hollered in enthusiasm and jumped on top of him. He lay on the ground with one eye twitching and his ears ringing from the children laughing and screaming in his face. He roared out and jumped up, throwing the kids off him. They laughed hard and began climbing on him like a jungle gym and he attempted to get away from them as they clung to his limbs.

"Get… off of me!" He cried out in anger. The kids all laughed and climbed down off him and stood in line again.

"Alright, I think we should get introductions over with." The lead child yelled. "I'll start on this end." He said while covering his eyes and randomly pointing to either end. It just so happened that it was the tall side. "Ok then. This is, in order, Jerry, Susie, Elizabeth, Jesse, James, John, Lizzy, Harold, I don't know this guy's name, Jessica, Mike, Roger, Robert, Sara, Miles, Conan, Zachary, Gerald, Kayla, Zaz, Louise, Howard, Kerry, Mary, and Jim. And I'm Mark." Each kid was painfully obvious they weren't related as far as looks went, but the one thing that made them all similar was the filthy dirt clinging to each one's clothes, faces, feet and hands. Vash's lip curled in disgust and he turned emotionlessly to the door of the shack as Wolfwood stuck his head out with a wide smile.

"Food's ready!" the words had no sooner left his lips when the children stampeded into the house to each get their share. Vash didn't budge as he slowly turned back around to face one the children who was staring at him blankly. They could hear the hustle and bustle from indoors, and the whistle of the lonely wind rushing past them, but neither of them made a sound. The bright-topped child grinned to reveal rows of sharp, shark-like teeth. A mosquito landed on his upper cheek and in a horrific display seemed to be swallowed into the child's bottom eyelid. Vash remained unmoving, and stared through his sunglasses at the unnatural youth.

"Vash…" he drawled out. "I'm Zazie the Beast." He gave a deep bow to Vash and straightened to see Vash still motionless. Zazie frowned and blinked once, only to reveal his pupils straighten like a dragons. He remedied his expression though, and resumed smiling. "You cannot move, can you?" Vash stayed silent. Truth was, as soon as the mosquito was swallowed into the boy's eye, Vash couldn't seem to break a spell that had fallen over him. "Do you wish to know why? Heh… of course you do. My pet took some of your blood, and now that it's in me, I can control your body, like it was some sort of puppet." Zazie approached Vash and looked up at him. Vash didn't spare a glance down towards the demon child as he concentrated on regaining control over his body.

"Oh yeah. Knives is really upset." Zazie snarled at having to mention Knives, but none-the-less he brought it up. Vash's eyebrows twitched, but other than that he kept his composed stillness. "It seems he doesn't like sending out assassins and getting them back dead. It's a put-downer for his pride, you see? That's why I'm here. I'm to kill you, immediately. In fact, I should slice you open right now." Zazie leapt back and his mouth seemed to break open as it opened impossibly wide. Mosquitoes flew in thousands from his body and they began nearing toward the immobile threat.

To Be Continued…

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I'm HORRIBLY sorry about such a late update, and a cliffhanger at that. I've got that sickly disease, Summer Slugniss, in me. I'll try to get chapter eleven up faster, and I'll try to make it longer! Sorry again! Anyway, review review review!

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	11. Death and Disease

Ch. 11 Death and Disease  
Bleeding Sun

Vash's teeth ground together as he watched air being sucked wildly through the rip. He felt his muscles tighten, but they wouldn't move as the door to the last escape ship started closing off his sights from the horrific event. He yelped at feeling his brother shoving him out of the way and began clawing at the air towards Rem. She was clinging to the grated floor and was slowly losing consciousness. Knives yelled in pain as the door started closing on his left arm, and in a sickening crunch and scream, his arm was completely sliced off at the shoulder joint. Vash's eyes widened at the sight of all the blood pouring from the stump. Vash turned his head to the closed door and fell face first when the ship gave a jolt from being launched.

"REM!" He cried out and scrambled to the window and watched as the entire fleet of SEED ships tore apart in the vacuum of space. Tears fell from his face and he spun around to see Knives cradling his armless shoulder. "No! Knives, you didn't get her! It's your fault! You killed Rem!" Vash cried out in anger. Knives didn't respond as he wiggled back into the shadows and away from Vash's accusing stares. "Knives! Knives!" he called out to his brother, trying to gather his attention.

"Knives!" Vash yelled in anger from the ground. His eyes shot open and he looked up at Wolfwood who was standing where Vash had been immobilized moments before. Wolfwood snarled and turned his gray eyes to look at the Stampede. Vash scrambled to stand up but found his muscles still weak from being held still. Wolfwood looked down at the slumped form of Zazie and lowered his gun to point at his head. Several loud bangs rang out in the desert and Wolfwood sheathed his gun and turned to Vash emotionlessly. Vash finally had rolled himself over onto all fours and he sloppily crawled to Zazie and grabbed the shoulders of the dead boy. Vash shook him violently as the tears that had been rolling down his face began drying and staining his pale flesh.

"Where is Knives! I want to kill that bastard! Where is he!" Vash spat into the lifeless corpse's face. He ferociously threw down the body and he unsteadily got onto his own two feet and looked Wolfwood in the face.

"It's… your fault…" he muttered and fell face first onto Wolfwood's chest. Wolfwood slumped Vash's comatose body onto the motorcycle and then he himself hoped onto the driver's seat, and ignoring the cries of terror from the twenty-five children, he took off down the road as fast as he could.

Wolfwood and Vash sat with their backs together beside the broken down motorcycle, far from any town they knew of. Vash hadn't said a word to the priest since they had left those children by themselves. Wolfwood merely sat and idly puffed on his bent cigarette, hoping it would last him for another few minutes. A gust of wind blew dirt into their faces and Vash groaned in annoyance, being the one facing the wind the most. Wolfwood ground his cigarette butt into the sand and gave a hefty sigh, knowing this wasn't helping them any.

"So… whose this 'Knives', anyway?" Wolfwood asked over his shoulder. Vash stood up and walked around to the other side of the motorcycle and sat, leaning against it opposed to sitting against Wolfwood. "Fine, whatever." The priest muttered while lighting his last cigarette, which was more crumpled than the others.

Both men awoke with a start at the clunking sounds of a truck screeching to a halt beside them. A head poked out the window to reveal its unshaven and dirty round face.

"You boys need a ride?" the repulsive man called out towards them. Wolfwood looked over the bike seat at Vash's gray, spiked hair and then back up to the driver.

"Sure mister, that's very kind of you! Can you fit my bike into the back of your truck there?" The driver gave a hearty laugh and nodded, happy he could be of service to these lost people. Vash stood up and helped Wolfwood roll the broken down bike onto the vehicle.

They rattled along the unpaved road and into a town. Vash was laying against the window on the passenger's side, and although his sunglasses hid his heartless eyes, his steady breathing revealed that he was deep asleep. Wolfwood sat in the middle and his finger unconsciously stroked one of the confessionals he had sitting in his lap as he tried to forget that he was out of cigarettes. The driver hummed an unrecognizable tune to himself and didn't bother with talking to his guests. The town was rather shabby, and the near empty streets didn't give it any compliments. The truck pulled over beside the trading post and beckoned for the priest and madman to exit the truck. Vash lazily stumbled out and Wolfwood slid onto the ground shakily.

"Thank you very much sir. I wish we had something to give you for your efforts…" Wolfwood glanced at the mini confessional he had clung to during the ride and quickly handed it over to the driver. "Here, this is on me." Wolfwood smiled like he was handed the man a priceless watch proudly, but all the man did was shrug and jabbed a thumb to the back of his vehicle.

"Well, you two had better get that bike of yours to a shop and find some lodgings. Be careful about which side of town you decide to park yourselves."

Wolfwood started to ask why but by the time the driver was in his truck the priest couldn't seem to bring himself to really care. Wolfwood glanced over his shoulder nonchalantly and had to do a double take before he spun around with his mouth gaping open at the empty space that once had been occupied with a lunatic.

"Hey!" the terrorist priest cried out indignantly.

Vash shakily stumbled down the road, unsure what was wrong with him. Even when he had been this tired before he could walk tall and menacingly around cities. He placed a hot leather clad hand over his forehead, the cool metals rings felt good against his burning temple. It felt like thousands of people were screaming in his face as he was helplessly thrown about on a roller coaster. The ground twisted and turned and leaned back and forth and spun beneath his feet. Vash desperately grabbed hold to a support beam to a boot shop and clung on for dear life. Why was the ground moving? It never did that before… Who are those people? Why are they staring? Oh shit…

Vash keeled over and threw up by somebody's feet. Even when sick he could make people's lives miserable. His sunglasses slid down his sweaty nose, and he was suddenly aware of how hot it was in this leather body-suit, temperature controlled or not. A hand touched his back and Vash swung clumsily at the owner of the hand, angry that someone would touch him, but in his state – he missed by a mile.

"Don't worry dear, I'll get you inside…" A motherly voice said to him softly. Vash felt several pair of arms wrap under his arms and around his back as they heaved him up and dragged him inside. Vash weakly struggled on the way, but couldn't bring himself to do much more than to mumble curses at them.

"You greasy, ugly son of… Let me go now or I'll kill every last one of you…" Vash finally stopped muttering promises of death into their ears when they sat him down on a cushioned bench.

"He can stay in the guest room until he gets better. I wouldn't worry about his threats, he's probably just a bit delusional from this illness." Vash once again felt arms around him, but this time had to use all of his energy concentrating on breathing. They dragged him upstairs, and some time between the top of the steps and the bedroom, he lost consciousness.

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Ok, I feel we're even now. Another early update. Now back on schedule. I want a solid 40 reviews before chapter 12, or no more story. (threats, threats, threats!) finger slowly lowers to point at you, then at "go" button Review. I command it. 


	12. My Little Sickness

Ch. 12 Bleeding Sun  
My Little Sickness

Vash moaned in pain as he rolled on his side. His vision was blurry and his breath was coming ragged. Something was unquestionably wrong with him, but how was this possible? He was immune to human diseases, how could he become so sick so fast? He glanced to the side table and spotted his sunglasses next to a glass of ice cold water. His eyes swept the rest of the room before landing on a small girl in the doorway. Vash snarled and tried pushing himself into a sitting position but a hand landed on his shoulder and with some effort, pushed him back down. He looked up to a woman standing over him with a cool rag. She pressed it on his forehead and smiled in satisfaction.

"How are you feeling dear?" she asked. Vash suddenly felt a large wave of nausea and he rolled to his side and threw up next to the bed in a conveniently placed trash bin. The woman jumped back with a worried and sickened face. Vash was ready to fall from the bed in exhaustion but he paused when booming echoed from outside.

"Oh no…" the woman muttered. Charlene Polo stared out the window with wide eyes. "A train just crashed into the satellite!" She cried out. Her daughter slapped her hands over her open mouth. Vash grumbled and just barely kept himself from toppling off the mattress.

His head was still spinning, and standing didn't help, but none-the-less Vash wobbled to his feet and stumbled to the door.

"Oh dear, no!" The woman named Charlene called to him with outstretched hands. "Please don't get up! You're very sick, hun, you need your rest."

Vash continued his dizzying journey from the shop/home. His brain seemed to be kicking in again and he remembered the beast-boy and his mosquitoes. It was more than likely his "pets" carried diseases, and now he was ill because of those mutant bugs…

Wolfwood smiled as he shook the hotel keeper's hand in greeting.

"It's very nice of you to let me stay here until my bike's fixed. You know I don't have much money, right?" The old gentleman chuckled a bit gravely and shook his head. He looked like the sort of man to commit suicide in the morning. "It's no trouble my boy. Please, stay as long as you want… it makes no difference." Wolfwood shrugged and climbed the stairs to his room on the second floor. He plopped his cross on the bed and the springs cried in resistance. He ignored the creaky mattress and sat at a chair by the window. His fingers pawed at his jacket's pocket out of habit and he blew a sigh through his lips. His dark hair hung lazily around his face and he glanced out the window just in time to spot a large train crashing into a satellite.

Wolfwood leapt from his chair and scrambled out the window with his cross swinging from his back. He pounced off the roof and landed heavily on the dirt road and began bounding towards the crash site. He skidded to a stop to see that wretched black coat swinging slowly down the street.

"Spikey - you idiot! What are you doing? Where have you been!" Nicholas knocked Vash on the head with the end of his cross-punisher. Vash mumbled curses and looked up at Wolfwood from his slumped over state.

"What the hell are you rushing for?" Vash asked while laying a hand over his eyes to block out those annoying suns. Wolfwood glared at him then stuck his nose in the air. "I have a feeling this town is having some sort of feud, and crashing that train might upset a good number of the residents, so I'm going to the satellite to check it out."

Vash merely half-listened as his headache swelled. "I'll go with you…" He mumbled as he turned and swayed towards the satellite and began walking clumsily down the road. Wolfwood stared for a moment before catching up and walking beside him to the site.

They joined a large crowd gathered around the train. Suddenly, the intercom erupted into life and a voice boomed over it. It had only one demand…

"The death of all the Polo Family!"

Vash ignored the gasps coming from around him and continued pushing through the crowd. His forehead sweated and his sight blurred, but he continued pushing until he was by the train. He slumped against it and ground his teeth together when Wolfwood wrapped his arm under Vash's and pulled them through a crack in the train's hull.

When they entered Vash could hear the slight murmur from some ruff men up in the control room. Wolfwood looked both ways then down at Vash.

"Which way do we go?"

"What do I look like, a damn dog?" Vash griped. Wolfwood sighed and let go of the Stampede.

"How about you put that Humanoid Typhoon title to work, eh? We'll scare them out and put an end to this feud." Wolfwood said. Vash shook his head.

"Does it look like I'm here to help anybody? Get out of my face." Vash sucked in a lungful of air and willed himself to stand straight and menacingly. His brain felt like a puddle right now, but that didn't matter. It didn't take brains to kill people.

The Stampede walked in slow strides, making sure his footsteps were heard. As he neared the control room the voices stopped to listen to him near. Vash swallowed another breath and grinned maniacally.

"Total slaughter! Total slaughter!" He sang in a low voice that echoed from the walls and straight into the Fris family's fear. "I won't leave a single man alive! Ladidadidie! Genocide! Ladidadidud, an ocean of blood! Let's begin, the killing time!" by this time the men were panicking. Vash entered the room with one large sweep. His eyes flashed without the sunglasses to cover them and his grin grew.

"I want to see your hearts!" Vash growled between his smiling teeth. The men cried in horror and Vash swept his arm up while loosely clutching the black gun and he shot the people to pieces. Even an old gentleman who was apparently not part of the Fris'.

Wolfwood stumbled in and grabbed Vash's arm. Vash grinned with satisfaction. "I don't feel ill anymore!" He cried out in joy. Wolfwood shook his head and pulled Vash away from the murdered mass. They left through an opening in the back of the train and, after stopping for Vash's glasses that he insisted were necessary, got Wolfwood's bike from the shop and sped away.

Nicholas turned his head to look at Vash angrily in his side cart. "Spikey, you need to…" Wolfwood shook his head and ran a hand over his helmet. "Never mind." Vash shrugged as they pulled into the next town. Vash looked around at the empty streets with uninterested eyes.

They road to the center of the town without spotting a soul, and were slowly becoming suspicious. Vash stirred at the sight of the center and leapt from the moving motorcycle. He threw the helmet to the ground and stared at the statue sitting as silent as the municipality.

"Knives." He read off the stone slab.


	13. ReiDei the Blade

A/N: I am sorry for not updating in such I long time, I really lost interest in this story, but by chance I read Comment45's review, and felt so good, I made up my mind that I should add another chapter. Ah, and I want to double-check that everyone remembers that Knives has the mechanical gun-arm, not Vash. Vash's brother never shot it off, because he was never evil, evil smile remember?

Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, or its characters. sigh I only wish I did...

Chapter 13 Bleeding Sun

Rei-Dei The Blade

Vash's lips curled as the freshly written name stunk of rotten blood. Wolfwood rolled around in a U-turn, kicking up more dry dirt into the already clouded air, and skidded to a halt behind the menacing man. Wolfwood's large black sunglasses slid down his nose and he licked his dry lips in awe.

The Stampede's eyes squinted to shut out the blaring sun. His face felt hot, and the black coat flapping around him didn't help. His brain was in a jumble, like he had just awaken from a dream and fleeting images of memories long since passed flashed in his eyes like a slide show on fast-forward. His mouth gaped open and his red eyes widened in the horror of his situation.

Dust flew into his face and the smell of gasoline sputtered around the air around him. The wild beast roaring to his left stopped at the switch of a key and its rider threw one leg over the side to climb down from the worn away cushion that served as a seat. Wolfwood's hair tousled in the wind that only blew to throw heat and sand into their faces. His gray and lifeless eyes stared at the large slab with unknowing curiousness.

"Knives." He whispered aloud in the barren town. Vash felt a chill run down his spine and anger boil behind his ears. "Are both of you raving lunatics?" he asked under his breath. Vash chuckled despite the hatred burning in his blood.

"Tell me," he said while turning slowly to face Wolfwood, "what is it about you that has kept you alive for this long in my company?" Vash's hair ruffled in a breeze and Wolfwood's eyes darted around them, feeling like he was a mouse being driven into the corner by the cat. He chewed the inside of his cheek while trying to find the answer himself while desperately wishing he had not smoked through another pack of cigarettes already.

Vash sneered as no reply came from his companion. "That's what I thought." His hand slid slowly to the handle of his gun, and with a wild fling, he swung it up and shot. The bullet flew from the metal barrel and sailed through the air, spinning as it ripped through dirt and wind in a straight line, and sank deep into the man's flesh – and tore through the other side.

Wolfwood stared wide-eyed at Vash, whose gun was pointing over his shoulder at a man behind him, who was wailing a writhing on the ground. Wolfwood jumped back and watched Vash sneer and turn slowly to look at the man he had just shot.

"You're not in any pain." Vash said with a frown. The man twisting and screaming in the dirt stopped abruptly and looked up at Vash with a smile.

"Is it that obvious?" He stood and shrugged while rubbing the hole in his leg, testing for any real pain. "I never was that much of an actor as a child." He said while straightening his gi. Vash continued frowning while the strange man finished dusting himself off and finally looked flatly at his dull eyes.

"I guess you were expecting this." Rei-Dei sighed and gripped the handle of his sword. "I'm a messenger of Knives. I'm ordered to put a stop to your killings here and now." He slowly pulled the blade from the sheath and steadied it eye-level across his face. "I shall show no mercy."

Vash grinned sadistically. "I don't expect any." He squeezed the trigger of his gun, but never pointed it anywhere. The gun made an empty "woof" sound and blew air at the ground. He frowned once more and steadied his sunglasses while keeping a close eye on the urban samurai.

This was no good position... Had he realized he was out of bullets he would not have so willingly shot the last one at his leg. He would have aimed to kill. He grinned again. No matter, there were more ways than one to catch a mouse.

Vash abandoned his gun to the ground and tipped his head insanely. Rei-Dei tightened his hold of the sword and swung it down as he spread his feet to prepare to launch himself forward. Another gust flew by, clouding everyone's vision, and an ear-piercing bang! sounded.

The dust ball vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and all that stood was Wolfwood with his cross-punisher unwrapped with guns hanging in the sunlight by their barrels. The silver glinted brightly, and Wolfwood slowly lowered his gun arm.

Rei-Dei's wide eyes quivered as he lay on his side in the ground. Vash was laying face-first in the dirt with the tails to his black coat flapping around him.

The wind carried no sound and the thick air swung around the three men lazily, like it had expected this to happen. A breath blew through Wolfwood's lips in relief, and he quickly charged forward with no time to lose. He ignored the motionless Typhoon lying without breathing, and swiftly grabbed the scruff of Rei-Dei's kimono. His face leaned towards the samurai's and he pointed his gun directly at the Blade's temple.

"Let God have mercy on your soul…" Wolfwood whispered in mock sympathy. "It's a blessing I got to you before he did." He said while motioning to the lifeless body of the Stampede. Rei-Dei drew in one of his numbered breaths, and spat blood in Wolfwood's face.

"Y-you have j-just hel-helped a g-g-great _evil_…" Rei-Dei the Blade gasped. His eyes narrowed and he pointed the blade of his sword at the madman pointedly. "Y-you are d-d-damning all m-man…kind…" he growled. Wolfwood looked away, slightly ashamed.

"I know what I'm doing. I'm helping put an end to this while losing as little lives as possible." He glanced at Vash's body, which still had not moved. Had he seriously hurt him when he shot him? His intentions were to shoot through the lunatic and hit Rei-Dei in order to put Vash out of the way for a few moments – but he had never meant to kill the deranged being. He shook off the guilt and turned back to the Gung-ho.

"Tell me, who is Knives?" Wolfwood asked. Rei-Dei chuckled, blood dripping down his chin and to the dirt. The ground sucked up the moisture greedily, but left a red stain to tarnish its cover.

"A peace s-seeker…really… H-he w-w-wanted noth-ing more th…than his br-brother's happiness," Rei-Dei gasped. Wolfwood's gray eyes widened and his gun pressed harder against the Blade's head.

"They are brothers?" Wolfwood muttered. Rei-Dei nodded and smiled as death began closing in on him.

"Knives w-worked hard t-to… help Vash." He spat the Stampede's name angrily. Knives suffered because his brother could never see the light, and Rei-Dei solely blamed Knives' pain on Vash the Stampede. The man he had always admired for never losing hope, for always trying to make things right, and he knew his misery was caused by the Typhoon. Rei-Dei had committed himself to helping Knives' cause since the first day he had met the blonde-headed man, and he was going to die failing. He frowned at the thought.

"L-lord Knives… y-you will n-n-not be disap-p-pointed in me… I'mmm n-not like the others…" Rei-Dei whispered while closing his eyes. Wolfwood's eyes narrowed and he cursed as the sword that had been pointed at Vash clicked, then banged.

Wolfwood threw the Blade down and only half-heard the man giving up his last breaths to victorious laughter as he scrambled towards the Stampede clumsily.

"Vash! Yo Spikey!" He finally reached Vash and started shaking him, not sure why he was so desperate to keep him alive when he had caused so much pain for others. He slapped the dark man's expressionless face, and then rolled him over to see where the bullet had struck him. The hole was inches from his head in his shoulder. It went from the top straight down, and to Wolfwood's guess the bullet was probably lodged somewhere in his arm. It wasn't a fatal wound – the bullet he had shot through him might have been. He searched for a hole in the black material, but scowled, as he couldn't tell button from hole. The jacket had been ripped up so much already it was impossible to tell which one was his. Not even a blood mark would show on fabric this dark…

He looked at Vash's face in horror as it slowly dawned on him what he should do to counter the non-breathing state the Stampede was in. He desperately pounded on Vash's chest, trying to save himself the humiliation of having to perform CPR on the world's largest menace.

"Spikey! Spikey! Wake up now dammit unless you wanna get kissed by me! I don't wanna kiss you, you crazy bastard! Wake up!"

Vash's hand flew up and his leather-bound fingers curled around Wolfwood's neck threateningly. His eyes shot open, and his sunglasses glinted in the light.

"Are you threatening to _kiss me_ if I die?" Vash asked while raising an eyebrow and turning his head to face Wolfwood. Nicholas was clawing at his fingers urgently as he gasped for air. He should start learning to stand arms-length away from the Typhoon when he was unconscious.

"It's called CPR you dummy! But it always looked like kissin' to me!" Wolfwood cried out while still trying to pry the lunatic's hand off. The Stampede let him go and rubbed his chest where the first bullet had torn through, then rubbed his shoulder wearily. With a disgusting "plup" sound the bullet in his shoulder worked its way out of his body and hit the ground.

Wolfwood massaged his neck and stared at him in wonder. "You really aren't human, are you?" Vash shrugged and looked at the dead samurai with half-lidded eyes.

"You killed him." He said quietly. Wolfwood nodded.

"I told you I wasn't new to the territory."

_His cross-punisher sat silhouetted behind them, the guns draping out in neat rows innocently, but they still displayed the message of death – and God's "mercy"._

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_Thank you everyone who's reviewed! I'll try and update more, but I'm supposed to be writing ANOTHER story for my guild - the Castle of the Wolves in neopets (my username is paranoiaagentfan). Anyway, I'm so happy everyone likes this story so much, and for all you silent readers - it'd be REALLY nice if you could just...

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